Discipline Involves Caring

As soon as I have my son is here I know what to say to him when he wants something. To me I think that discipline is an extremely important part in a child's life. Mostly because if you are a parent that gives your child whatever he asks for, life for you must really be troubled and mislead. Its important that you let your child know that he cant always have everything that he wants. That's basically spoiling your kids with all the goodies that they want. Its not a good thing for a mother and father who doesn't discipline their kids and let them know who's boss. When I was reading this book called "Discipline From Birth To Three" it really reminded me of what I should do and say to my child if he wants something from the store. I hope that this book teaches me more about what are some things I could do or say to my child when they want something.

Reflection (About the blogs)

When I first started doing the blogs I was really confused at first because I barely understood what had to be on it. On that same day I asked Mrs. Magyar what I would have to do to get this done and then she explained to me perfectly what expectations I needed in the blogs. I was thrilled to know that I had to read and then give my thoughts about the book and how It relates to me and what I'm going through. I'm glad I did this blog because it really gave me a place to type down all my thoughts and feelings about my pregnancy. When I started to type down everything that goes on in my daily routines it made me more comfortable in everyday life that I had this opportunity to express all my emotions and pain that go on with all the different reactions and changes in my body. I love doing blogs its just wonderful because its where I put all my information to the world and let them see how hard and so difficult being pregnant can be and also how having a baby can be a beautiful blessing for you and your partner. My blog explained everything I went through and will go through during the upcoming process.

Things To Remember

When my son arrives I would need to take a lot of responsibility in spending time when him and always being their to guide him through everything. Especially because I want him to grow up with a mother and father to protect him and never give up on him. Sometimes its hard for teenage girls to always reminds themselves that theirs a baby on the way because now all she would think about is the human being developed in her tummy. Nothing else matters but the baby. Always remember that having a baby is a serious process it takes two people to make one and when that happens both parents would have to take control of the matter, and lead it to where it will take them. Many mothers don't really appreciate the gift and blessing they receive, as for me I received my son on February and it just changed my life big time. I'll make sure of it that when my son is born I'll tell him all about my experience and having him in my uterus for 9 months straight. I would let him know how much pain it really put me through ever since day 1 when I found out he was in there waiting to be developed. My boyfriend and I are just so exited with the baby on the way because it gives us more time together and it puts us in a position where we always have to take things serious and to know that its all "real" this is not something to be joking/playing around with. We got to grow up and do things the way they should be done.

How Parents Feel

During my process of being close to labor I feel really supported because I knew from the beginning that I was never alone. I feel very comfortable with talking to my mom about a lot of things that I'm going through because I know shes been through the same exact process of having me as her daughter. I know that things get rough at times but, I learned to never give up even if it starts to pressure/stress you out. Knowing that someone really cares about you makes pregnancy for me a lot easier, mostly because I know that when I need support I have those people to turn to when ever possible. I don't have to be one of those girls who have no one to depend on. I'm glad I had 9 months to talk things out with my boyfriend and get everything set up for our "Son" when he arrives. Even till today I have my aunts and girl cousins to guide me through everything that occurs though on out the pregnancy. Its like I'm never alone theirs always someone waiting to help you even if you need a hand or not! there always independent and loyal to do things I would ask them to do. I'm just thankful for everyone who supports me any where I go. For example my teachers at school and my family in Hawaii.

The Circumcision Decision

While I was reading about baby's being circumcised it really caught my attention at that very time, because I remembered when my mom used to tell me that its really important to get my baby circumcised even if it means right after he is delivered at that very moment. To me I think that circumcising any baby is not a big deal because either way their going to be healthy. When I was in Ms. Mowers class she had talked to the class that she was against circumcising baby's because she said; why should you cut off the skin when you can just keep it in case you get into a situation where you loose skin on your back or face and you need extra skin to cover it up. So she told me that boys could just use the skin from the tip of their penis to cover it up because it stretches really wide and it enough to cover a serious injury up. After hearing all these things I still had my own decision to make and that was to have my son get circumcised because its against my religion if the boys don't, they have to get it done in order to be clean in front of "God". I think that its not going to hurt a lot because their baby's and its a really quick process that the doctors would have to do.

(Chaper 8 page100)Pain Relief Medication

When I was reading this girls experience, it was just so scary to hear how labor was for her. It rang a bell when I had read that you have options and choices about pain medications. Whether you wanted an epidural its when they give you shot on your back to make you go to sleep and not have to feel any kind of pain. To me I think that after reading these pregnant teenagers thoughts about the epidural made me think if I would consider the epidural during labor or maybe not. Its a hard decision for me because I had an aunt that had an epidural shot and as of today she faces more pain than ever. She can't carry her own kids because of the epidural shot she had done for her first baby. I'm confused but, I'm still thinking whether to get one, who knows if I might get it that's if I can't take the pain anymore. I would have to talk to my doctor about pain relief during labor. I'd rather make my choices before my labor begins. So therefore I will tell her my options and opinion about the medications.

Chapter 8 (Signs of labor)

In this chapter it really frightened me to know whats going to happen when I'm in labor. This chapter taught me a lot about going into labor and what I should do when this happens. Knowing a few things about "Early Labor" can be easier when you know more about it instead finding out late. I learned that your uterus has to be 3 to 5 cm wide in order to have the baby come out. I also read the signs of labor is when you feel gush of warm water coming out of your uterus and when you start to have contractions about every 10 minutes in an hour, those are signs that the baby is on its way. Knowing all these information made me more complex because I won't have to worry about panicking when something goes wrong. Its like knowing all the specific and important information's before it occurs at that exact time. I thought this was a great thing to know so when I'm having contractions I should count the time from the beginning of the contraction to the beginning of the next contraction. I know now that if it was real labor then the contractions won't go away. The last thing that stood out to me was that when I go in my mid-wife would have to know what my interval and duration of my contractions.

My Early Contractions

During the last few weeks of my eighth month I started to have contractions in my belly, it felt like my uterus was making a fist. I could see my belly getting hard and moving as my son pushes up on it or starts to kick a lot more often. I had no idea what to do when I started to have these pains in my stomach, I felt like the more I moved around the more the pain would strike me. When I felt my first contraction I was exited because I would space out and wonder if my baby would be born on that exact day. However I knew it was a false labor, but I would still take it as a exercise before I do the real thing. It really did scare me when I experienced my first contractions because it really hit me that my baby was ready to come out to the real world and finally see who his mommy and daddy was. My contractions led to no sleep at night and I would get up every hour to walk around or go sit down some where no one is at. Overall I thought that it was cool feeling my baby moving around, kicking me it really didn't bother me a bit, it just gave me a lot of excitement in my heart and soul.

Prepared Childbirth

When I first went into my childbirth class it really frightened me a lot because I didn't know what was going to be expected. At the same time I was really exited to find out all the different routines and strategies that these nurses would teach us. I would wonder how I would do with all the skills that I will learn from taking this birth class. I'm still taking this class if you are wondering, the things that I'm learning in this class so far is "what to expect". Childbirth is really helping me out more then I ever thought of. It helped me prepare for the better and then for the worst when I go through labor and delivery. My aunt is my coach. I feel way better about it because I'm really comfortable working with her because she is a part time mom as well to my little baby nephew. My aunt coaches me with the skills that our nurses give us, she was really helpful with anything I needed. She would help me get up from bed and walk me around early in the mornings. I was so active every morning because she trained me to do all sorts of things that really taught me a lesson. I was really happy I had a coach because they help you with what ever I needed and they completed my needs and wants about what will happen while I'm in labor and they also talk to you about how things are like when the time comes.

Prepare a Birth Plan

When I was at my doctors appointment my mid-wife had spoken to me about birth plans. She had asked me all these questions about "Who I wanted in the room during my delivery of the baby?" and "Should my child be circumcised?". There were so many different questions being asked and I thought to my self they were all important. So when I got home it really warmed me about what I wanted to do, it took me a while to figure things out whether "I wanted to breast feed or bottle feed my son or not". Before she asked me these questions I already knew what to say to her, Yes, I'm going to breast feed and no, I wasn't going to circumcise my baby after he's born. My mid-wife always spoke to me about all the important things that a baby needed after birth. So I listened to all her comments and replied back with great thoughts. It's hard to understand and get it in my mind that the baby is near I'm really stressed out and still trying to figure things out. I know what has to be done because with my mid-wife on the side she keeps me company and advises me about a lot of things. So I'm exited about that. She gives me great options and choices of what to do and it just makes me realize that I'm never alone and theirs always someone wanting to help me through my toughest times.

Eating Right For Baby and Me

On my third month I had already quit smoking, drinking from then on I had to stop drinking soda and eating junk food because in my mind and heart I wanted a healthy baby. To do that I had to give up everything I wanted and worry about what kind of food my son needed
to become really healthy,so I started to eat more fruits, vegetables, and sometimes milk I knew that if I wanted a healthy baby I would have to do everything to make sure he was okay in my stomach. I started to eat foods that I thought I would never eat and during my pregnancy I hated fried food and even heavy meat like steak and fish it wasn't really tasty and all it made me do was throw-up every single time I would try to eat it. Everything had to do with my child it wasn't about me anymore I had to do my best to eat healthier and to stay away from foods that I figured would not provide my son any good. While I'm eating all these healthy foods I also had to still take my prenatal vitamins to keep my baby growing well. While I'm going through this my mid-wife had given me a list of foods I couldn't eat and coul eat. For example, I couldn't eat Fats, spicy foods, drink coffee, noodles, chocolate, spearmint and peppermint because she said it would all contribute into causing heartburn's, so I had to look to my self and train my self to not eat or drink these things because it would harm my baby "so I did" and I think that my baby will come out wonderful and handsome just by doing all these things I feel relieved and filled with joy that I tried my best.

My First Ultrasound

When I had my first ultrasound I was very exited to find out what my baby was going to be, when we went into the room they had told us it was a "Boy". I was so happy that I started to cry out tears of happiness and joy because it was just so emotional and wonderful to see him moving around in my stomach. At that time he was on his belly crawling around and sucking on his thumb; I could see him kick when looking at the screen. It was just so beautiful to also have my boyfriend, mom, brother, boyfriends mom their to support me through the process I'm going through, it just made everything feel so alive and so real at that very moment. I couldn't picture such a great blessing to have shared that day and time with my family and also with my boyfriend and his mom. Having my son kick me every second, minute and hour of the weeks, months made him more real somehow because I got that opportunity to know and feel that hes hanging on in their waiting to come out. My boyfriend and I always discussed how our son "Kason Jayren Dixie Perez" would look like and I think we kind of have some ideas of how he would look like, but we would rather wait until he's born to really see how beautiful he will look like.

Dealing with Backaches

On my fifth month I started to have back pains from morning, noon and night it was just none stop each and every day. It was hard for me to focus in class and sit for a long period of time because I couldn't even stay still for half of the period and I couldn't stand for a long period of time as well. I felt like I just gained a whole lot of weight and it was just pulling me forward in the beginning of my sixth month. Sometimes when I'm at home I try my best to walk around outside and keep fit, but it was just so complicated because I had back issues, for me it was way too dramatic to the point where I couldn't get any sleep or any rest because it caused me a lot of soreness from my body on down. I also couldn't do any kind of exercise because if I were to start stretching my stomach would feel upside down or my back would start having sharp pains. When I got to the middle of my sixth month my boyfriend started to massage me a lot often for about two and a half hours I couldn't take the pain any longer so I asked him to do me that favor of massaging my back and making things work better for me so he did what I asked and it was just wonderful. Being pregnant and dealing with so much pain throughout the whole pregnancy isn't fun, but I know that in the end it's going to worth going through.

Limit The Fat

Since this is my first pregnancy I feel like I gained a lot of weight and have a lot of stretchmarks. To me I know that I gained more weight than I expected because when I hit my sixth month I started to eat more then I did when I was 1-5 months. During those months I couldn't stand the smell of food I hated waking up to cooked food because it bothered me so much. But after my sixth month I started to eat up everything, like I started to eat fried chicken, fish and all the meat I would smell. I didn't worry about what I ate, just as long as I wasn't throwing up anything and feeding my baby. The next 4-5 weeks I went back to my mid-wife to check up on how the baby was doing and how I was doing, she had told me that baby's heart beat is normal and that I gained about 20 pounds during the middle of my sixth month I was so shocked and didn't know if I'm ever going to loose any of it after the baby is born. I'm still worried about having all the weight on me after my son is delivered. At this point on I should only worry about eating fresh fruit, peanuts, eggs, yogurt, more milk and protein so that way I would stay fit and not gain all the other extra weight I shouldn't have.

What I Didn't Know

I'm still reading the book "Your Pregnancy & Newborn Journey" while reading throughout the book I read about "Varicose Veins and hemorrhoids" They are caused when in normal veins, valves in the vein keep blood moving forward toward the heart. With varicose veins, the valves do not function properly, allowing blood to remain in the vein. Pooling of blood in a vein causes it to enlarge. I never knew what it was so one of my teachers had told me in order to stop this from happening to me or anyone else I would have to "Avoid standing or sitting for a long period of time" and "Avoid wearing tight clothing from waist on down". Reading about these kind of things made me panic a little because I would never have known anything about it if I never read this book. To me its like taking chances to go through the pregnancy and not even know what comes along with that decision. Whether it would be to have heart burns or varicose veins which scares the life out of me. Learning what to do and not do to prevent it from not occurring on my body was worth it because I wouldn't want to walk around with legs that have varicose growing on them and having to deal with how my body will look like after my pregnancy.

Dealing With Minor Discomforts

While continuing on with the pregnancy I went through varieties of things, being sick all the time wasn't really my kind of thing. I had backaches, stomach issues and I had so much pain every where in my body. The worst thing about it was gaining a lot of weight and breaking out during all of it. To me it was just too much pressure and stress to even think about, I was just so emotional with everything. I cried every night, threw-up a lot in the daytime, and also late at night. Things were just getting worse and worse every single day, it just became my worst nightmare having to deal with all these sicknesses. All I ever thought about was everything to just go away and let me be, still till today I worry about my weight a lot because of how I look it was just so terrifying and stressful having to go through all these process all for my soon to be baby boy. I'm not going to lie it's hard going through all of these steps to receive a healthy baby. I never complained about anything until now it's just so tiring and a lot of work to do when dealing with pregnancy. You have to worry about what you eat, go for 20 minute walks, and also go to all my appointments every two weeks. I gained 27.5 pounds in 6 months and maybe more to come in my next 2 months (Stressed about it). It was a pain in the butt, I would advise you to make good choices and talk to your doctor about what you can do to help you stay on track and not worry about being pregnant.

Worries in the beggining of pregnancy

I always thought of my life being very natural and easy, at that time I never thought of having a baby I just never let the thought come to me as well. I just ignored it out my teenage life. I realized now I would've done something by using protection and making smart choices. My worries were what would I do now? give up and run from my mistakes or to "wake up" and get it through my head that it was all happening. My goals were to keep moving forward and have no regrets. By doing that I would have to understand that theirs another living human growing inside of me and that I should really start doing something about it. Wheather to start attending school and graduating or let everything go to waist. It really took a long time for me to figure out things because at that time I was smoking, drinking and partying 24/7 with friends and cousins everywhere I never worried about what I should do since now that I'm pregnant. I was so fed up with a lot of things and confused about what to do because I wasn't even ready to have a baby to be apart of my life. After thinking very hard all about these things I had talked to my mom about being a mother and having to have an actual child in my hands. She had told me that she would help me through the whole process and that when the baby is born she would help me take care of him. At that moment I was just so happy because I had my moms support and she will stand by me through my whole pregnancy.

Your Pregnancy & Newborn Journey

I've been reading this book about "Pregnancy Newborn Journey's". This book really spoke lout to me as a teenage mom, it really did relate to me as a young mother. It talked about how "you should stick around for high school even if your pregnant always remember never give up." To me this quote really meant a lot because at the time I found out that I was pregnant and so it just jumped out to me. For instance now i had more responsibilities as a teenage mother. Though out this process the though that ran through my head were to stay home and not worry about school. As I'm confused something really jumped out to me when I went home and discussed things with my boyfriend and just to work everything out. It wasn't about me or him anymore we had something more important to worry about. A living human being inside of me! I felt like if I was to drop out during my pregnancy I would've been done for because giving up school meant giving up everything I ever worked so hard for, and I wasn't going to let anything get in my way. My plans were to keep the baby and keep pushing my self to go harder in school. The highlight of high school is being able to look at your friends and say, "Gosh, we did it. We did it together." To me I'm happy I stayed in high school even if I'm pregnant all i needed to do was finish school then go to college and find me the greatest career I could ever find.

first post

This is picture is my family at our small reunion in june 2009. they had came down from Hawaii to visit all of us kids and expecially my dad who had a stroke on august 29, 2008. Things were very unhappy that day because we kids never knew what would happen afterwards. Everyone just freaked when they found out about what had happened to my father. It was very supporting and comforting to have my family come down from Hawaii and guide us kids including my mom and dad. They came down as soon as they heard about the insident. I think that it was a great summer even though nothing but "sadness" in everyones heart and soul, but i prayed and hopedeverything would go back to the way they were after my dad gets better. Four months later my dad gets removed from the hospital and sent to a rehability center where they helped him get back into figure and take care of him for a while before he comes home. Everyone were so kid to us and they just kept our spirits and hopes up knowing that everythings going to be okay. One month later my dad got to come home and at last our family was back to normal and started a new fresh start and we just all thanked "GOD" for everything he has done to help my dad out and for giving us his"Family" the strength to live each day with positive hopes and good thoughts that everything happens for a reason and that at the end things will turn out just great. I love my family always they mean the world to me.